


Journey Into Night

by RoyaltyLaine



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Dark Theme, F/M, Happy Ending, Post-Finale, Rumbelle Christmas in July, after 6x22, mention of concentration camp, school theme, the Dark Realm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-06 11:05:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11599329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoyaltyLaine/pseuds/RoyaltyLaine
Summary: A deadly threat, that has already rocked Storybrooke once before, has returned, and its eyes are set on the son of Belle and Rumplestiltskin.





	Journey Into Night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Annythecat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annythecat/gifts).



> For Annythecat. Her prompt was Post Finale, Dark Realm, School.I hope you enjoy your gift. Non- beta, I own all the mistakes. Everything takes place after the 6x22. Enjoy.

It started as a tingle while having dinner at Granny's. A pestering itch that he couldn't reach, and never becoming more than a mere annoyance that pecked at the back of his mind. Something was wrong. But everything was right. His mother was gone, the curse was broken, and the Enchanted Forest remained intact. He pushed the thoughts aside when he looked down at the little babe in his arms, his son, then over to his wife Belle who'd forgiven him more times than he deserved. She was so proud of him, of the man he became and of the choices that he'd selflessly made for his family. Maybe it was the guilt of past mistakes getting to him, almost trusting his mother's curse that was supposed to keep his family safe. Or perhaps it was something else entirely, but as the merriment in Granny's continued, his mind unceasingly went elsewhere and lingered in foreboding.

"Rumple?" Belle called softly, pulling her husband from his thoughts in the midst of the chattering townspeople. "Is everything alright?"

"Fine sweetheart." He told her, telling himself just as much.

"Well, you'd stop eating and-."

"Do you want to get out of here, Belle?" He interrupted with a subtle smile.

"I would." She whispered. "I've had enough socializing for one day, and I think Gideon is due for his feeding." She added, stroking a finger along the plump curve of her son's cheek.

The couple, well trio with Gideon, bid their friends a farewell and everyone said their goodbyes as Belle and Rumple excused themselves out of the diner. As they drove home, Rumple couldn't help but notice that the feeling was back and becoming increasingly intense. He wondered, thinking quietly to himself and going through all his enemies who could threaten his family's life. His father: vanquished. Cora and Hades: dead. Zelena was still alive. No, she is without magic and has turned over a new leaf for the sake of her sister and her daughter. Rumple still shuddered at the thought of baby Robin's conception. Who else? The Evil Queen was in a different realm as were the other Enchanted Forest citizens' who sought to harm him and realm jumping was almost impossible, especially for non-magical people.

That just left one other person. Or should he say dust. His mother, Fiona was dead too, a pile of ash on the floor of his shop. He hadn't even bothered to sweep her up after he destroyed her. After Belle had entered his shop, there was only one thing on is mine at the time and that was to save their son. Fortunately, after almost giving up hope, he did, and Gideon was returned to them safe and sound. On their way out of the cave, they pass by his mother's lair. A dwelling in the cave filled with magical crystals and gems that are mined for fairy dust. He thought about destroying her lair and being done with all and any remnants of his mother. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. Something deep down inside of him wanted his mother. Her last words to him, well the last ones he could to hear, was that all she wanted was him and to be a family. He wanted that to be true, and perhaps some essence of it was, but she betrayed him from the moment he was born and then again three hundreds of years later, and he wasn't going to fall for her sweet words again.

However, something did catch his eye, his baby blanket woven in gold wool and neatly folded next to her things. He took it with him and gave it to his own son and Belle swaddle him tightly into it.

"I think he likes it, Rumple." Belle had said as Gideon cooed and yawned in his mother's arms.

"Wonderful. At least my mother was good for something." He'd told her as they exited the caves.

Gideon was still wrapped cozily in the blankets hours later as they drove home from Granny's. When they made it home, Belle heated up some milk under warm water, before testing the temperature on her arm. It was perfect not too hot nor cold, a perfect temperature that matched her own body's heat. After feeding, it was time to burp him, and Rumple could handle that. They took turns with Gideon to ensure that he would bond with both of his parents. Once all the bubbles from Gideon's tummy were all gone, he yawned with a small squeak. Together, they both went to his room for bedtime. Rumple rocked him in his arms as Belle read him a story. Gideon's eyes shifted between the both of them until his lids lowered and he was sound asleep. Belle placed a soft kiss on his temple, and Rumple put him gently into his crib.

Xox0xox

Later that evening, the dark showroom of Gold's shop began to rumble. The antiques in the glass cases and on the shelf that lined the walls rattled and trembled from some unknown force. Lights flickered even though the power to the pawn shop was off and obscure, eerie noises from an unmanned phonograph in his back office began to play. On the wooden floors, the dust fragments of the fallen black fairy started to vibrate and shift, then swirl and began to take form into black smoke. They floated through the keyhole and poured out from the other side of the door onto the streets of Storybrooke. The Black Fairy's smoke drifted on twilight's breeze past the sleepy town and through the dense forest. Passing over the toll bridge and until finally reaching a lone wishing well surrounded by fog. Deep in the woods, The Black Fairy's smoke enters the well, making it gurgle and bubble. Two solid hands reemerge from its bowels, and a resurrected Fiona pulled herself from the well, dawning her fairy attire, black as a crow.

"My own son thought he could get rid of me." She chuckled to herself. "Oh Rumple, darkness isn't snuffed out that easily."

She shuddered and stretched out her black, dragon-fly like wings, making sure all her magic was intact. "Now, to retrieve what's mine."

xox0xox

"Are you sure everything's okay Rumple?" Belle asked, between the passionate kisses from her husband.

"It's fine, sweetheart," Rumple whispered, sending his breath into her skin, giving her chills and making her goose pimples appear where his lips had been.

Gold kissed her neck and ran his hand down the length of her hips and thighs as Belle bit her lip, loving every minute of what he was doing to her. It had been a few hours since they kissed and even longer since he'd touched her in this way. Gods, he missed this. Her soft skin, her moans, and the way she lightly bit his bottom lip when they kissed. Those dreadful thoughts couldn't penetrate through now that his mind swam in ecstasy.

He moved his hand over her belly, caressing the smooth skin of her mid-drift. His hand moved further down to the hem of her panties, but just before he could dive deeper into her heaven, Belle grabbed his hand and stopped him.

"Before we do this, I should go check on Gideon one last time." She said with half lidded eyes.

He gazed at her with longing. "He'll be okay Belle. Stay," he told her, kissing her more eagerly.

"It won't take me long. I just want to make sure he's still sleeping."

Rumple groaned and pulled his arm from around her and turned onto his back, looking like a child whose parents had refused him candy. Belle kissed his browline and got up from the bed. She threw a robe around her body and went to the nursery. She peeked through the cracked door and saw the small hump of her son underneath his blanket. She smiled and quietly tiptoed into her son's bedroom. When she reached the crib to make sure he was covered warmly, she noticed that the gold baby blanket that her husband gave their son was gone. She flipped the covers back to reveal that he wasn't there, and the hump that she thought was his body, was only a pillow.

"N-no. no, no." She scrambled around the room looking for any signs of her son, but there was none, and she panicked.

"Rumple!" She cried out for her husband.

Xox0xox

To find Gideon, the Black fairy used the gold baby blanket as a beacon and stole him away from his parent's home, just as easy as she did from that flying nat, Blue. If she couldn't have Rumple or a family, then neither could he. It was a cruel thing to do, but it was what she longed for. The final battle was to ensure that she had everything she ever wanted. Her son and grandson, a family, a home, all the while still being able to hold onto her power. But Rumple didn't want to be apart of that, too blinded by a useless bookworm to see that she was only looking out for his best interest. Well, her best interest.

When she made it back to the cave, she summoned a portal. The savior, Emma, had died only to be brought back to life by true loves kiss. So the portal to the Dark Realm remained open due to the Savior's brief demise. Gideon began to cry, sensing the danger he was in, and Fiona tried to hushed the child's sobs with a lullaby.

_I cried and called my sweet Bairn's name. But never saw sweet baby again.._

But Gideon's tears and wails did not cease. Fiona sighed. "Such a shame. That always worked on Rumple." She said, placing the child into a wicker basket. "Cry all you want Gideon, like it or not, you're my son now. I know I wasn't much of a good mother before. I made a terrible mistake. I took control of your heart and forced you to love me, but now I know that only _fear_  will make you love me."

xox0xox

Rumple could only look down at the empty crib that once held his son. His blood ran cold in his veins, and the only thing he could think of was how much pain the person who did this was going to endure. But first thing first, he had to get control of the situation.

"This is my fault." He said in soft, heartbroken words, clutching the crib's wooden frame.

"Wh-what are you talking about Rumple?"

"Our son is gone, and it's my fault. I wasted so much time trying to ignore my instincts when I should have been listening to its warning."

"But you couldn't have possibly known that this was going to happen," Belle said, placing a comforting hand on her husband's hand.

"I had a feeling and chose to overlook it because … I ..we were finally happy."

"Rumple, this isn't your fault. Whoever did this – whoever took our son is to blame, not you," she assured him. "We have to figure something out. We have to get our son back."

"My shop," he said, a sense of hope present in his tone. "There may be something in there that will tell us who took him and where he is."

Belle hugged her husband tight. It hadn't even been a whole day that her family had gotten back together and now for a second time she'd lost her son. But at least she wasn't facing this alone.

There was no more time to waste. Vengeance outweighed other tedious tasks like dressing and driving. Rumple waved his hand, and they appeared in his shop fully clothed. He walked over to a glass case that housed a secret compartment. Silently, he dove his hands into the drawer and pulled out a crystal ball with an iron raven's claw for its stand. The three tali' held the ball up right and kept it from rolling off the table. He placed his fingers on the glass and tried to concentrate.

Belle watched him silently, pacing the floor only a few feet from him as he gazed into the crystal orb.

"Do you see anything?" She asked.

He didn't need magic this time to figure out what had happened. "It's what I don't see."

"I don't understand. You can't find the person who took our son?" Belle ran to the crystal trying to make sense of what he was talking about, hoping to find some image that showed the whereabouts of her son, but when she looked into it, all she saw was.. nothing.

"When I killed my mother, she calcified and turned to dust."

"I remember, her remains should be," -all the color in Belle's face left, and she appeared porcelain white when she turned to the place where The Black Fairy's ashes were- "Rumple. They're gone. Your mother is alive."

"Indeed. And she has stolen our son."

"But how is this possible?" Belle asked, with uncertainties. "How can she come back from death?"

"I'm not sure, but a similar thing happened to another Storybrooke resident."

"Who? Maybe they can help."

"I doubt she would be willing to help me, and besides her magic is gone. She wouldn't be much help to us now."

Belle thought to herself for a moment. "Zelena?" she asked, and Gold nodded yes. "Zelena came back from death?"

He had hoped to keep that a secret, but it was out now and addressing it was the only way to figure out how his mother came back from the dead.

Rumple took a deep breath and exhaled. "After I proposed to you, I made a visit to Zelena's cell with the real dagger and killed her." He sighed. The dissatisfied look on Belle's face wasn't making telling her the truth any easier. "But I should have known that it would have cost me a terrible price. When I was recovering in a New York hospital, she paid me a visit. She told me that she didn't technically die, her life force simply fled and went searching for magic to fulfill her last task."

"The time portal." Belle clarified. "The one that sent Emma and Killian back in time. That's why she disguised herself as Marion."

"Yes. In Zelena's case, her last task was to use the magical time portal to go back in time, and she was inevitably brought back to life, so to speak. In my mother's case, she would use the wishing well. She knows of its magic, and how it can return things that were once lost."

"That explains how she's alive and walking around, but what is your mother's last task?"

"To get the thing she always wanted but couldn't ever have. A son."

xox0xox

Time moved differently in the Dark Realm, and the sun never rose. It was always night in this realm. The stars didn't even shine through the dark and lonely night skies. Only the moon provided light and gave him some ounce of time to show many months had gone by.

He could see the moon's glow from his cell, and every time the moon was round and full, he knew another month had passed. Gideon had eleven birthdays since that evening his new mother brought him to his new home in the dark realm. He spent each day with his classmates, who consisted of 19 other unfortunate children stolen from their parents. Most days were spent doing chores around the school, and others were spent in the mines, digging for fairy dust until their hands blistered from repeated wacks at the solid wall of stone.

Every morning his new mother would wake the students up with an ear splitting alarm. The students had to promptly get up from their small cots and get dressed with their bedding neat and tidy all within five minutes. The ones that were too tired to get up from the previous day's work received a punishment. Gideon didn't know what that punishment was, but the screams of the other children he'd hear were enough to know that it wasn't anything good. So Gideon made it a habit of waking up ten minutes before the alarm went off and always covered his ears when the other kids got punished.

Down in the mines under the school, the clanging of pickaxes hitting rocks over and over again was the only thing breaking the silence. Gideon's hands were so sore. The blisters from last week hadn't quite healed, and new ones were forming on top of the old ones. He dropped his ax, only for a moment, just to stretch and wiggle his aching fingers. Out of nowhere a tiny rock hit him on the head next to his temple. He heard some of the kids snicker over the sound of metal hitting rocks, but he couldn't find the culprit who sent the pebble. After rubbing the spot where the rock hit him, he went back to making big rocks into smaller ones.

"Ouch." He cried when another rock hit the back of his head.

"Mama's boy." One of the older kids said.

"She's not my mom Jacob," Gideon said, but the boy only tosses another, larger rock at him. "Stop it."

"Or what? Your gonna cry to your mother that I'm picking on you." Jacob said.

"She's not my mom."

"Oh yeah, then why does she call you her son?" One of the other boys spoke up. "Why is your room the only one with a window?"

Gideon shrugged, picking up his pickaxe to continue working. "I don't know. Just is."

"Just face it you love your whittle mommy, and she wuvs you back, mama's boy." Jacod mocked loftily.

Gideon had enough. On top of all the hard work that his fake mother was putting him through, he still had to put up with the other kids bullying. He ran over to Jacob and pushed him to the ground. Jacob managed to get to his feet, but he had a busted lip from falling on one of the rocks. The other children in the caves began to chant fight.

Jacob was a lot bigger than Gideon and made him reconsider pushing the older kid. The two boys circled each other, sizing the other up, as the other children chanted the same word over and over again, but just as Jacob was about to throw the first punch, he was swung back across the cave, hitting the rock enclosure.

"Now, Now. You weren't thinking about striking my son, were you?" she asked calmly, like she hadn't just thrown a 13-year-old into a stone wall. She sucks her teeth and then turns to Gideon. "Are you hurt, son?"

Gideon ignored her with a stubborn look, reminding Fiona just how much his actual mother resonated with him.

xox0xox

Gold realized that there was only one place where his mother would have taken his son, and that was to the Dark Realm where she could rule and gather more fairy dust for a new dark curse.

"How do we get there?" Belle asked her husband.

He only needed a second to think before his brain came up with a plan. Not long ago, he regained possession of a very powerful wand that was able to cross realms. Gold opened a secret safe behind a picture and inside was the Apprentice's wand. Belle blushed and looked away. It had been the same wand she almost used to return to the Enchanted Forest.

She cleared her throat. "So this will help us get to the Dark Realm and get our son back?"

Gold nodded. "It should. But the wand will only work if the wielder possesses light and dark. So I'll need your help."

It had only been just weeks ago that this very same wand was supposed to separate him from his son, and now it's being used to reunite him with his son. Funny how these things turn out, he thought to himself. They went to the center of the shop's showroom and held hands as Rumple drew an outline of a door. Each stroke glowed with light until a black door with a red doorknob appeared in front of them. Gold tucked the wand inside his coat's pocket and led Belle over the threshold and into another realm.

xox0xox

"Do you know why I asked you to come here, Gideon?" She asked, and he shook his head no. "Because I want to tell you that you're right. I'm not your mother."

Gideon's eyes soften. He had been right all along. The wicked woman wasn't his true mother, and his birth mother and father was out there somewhere looking for him, just like how he dreamt.

"It was unwise of me to keep the truth from you and lie to you." She continued. "You deserve to know who your real parents are."

Gideon's eyes lit up. "Will you tell me?"

"Are you sure you want to know?" The Black Fairy asked distastefully, "Sometimes the truth is more painful than a merciful lie."

Gideon nodded. For as long as he could remember he always wanted to know who his parents were and what they were like.

"You read a lot. I see you almost every day in your room reading some book." Fiona said. "Have you heard of the Dark One?

He knew it. His father was a hero. He killed the Dark One and probably saved his mother from the evil fiend, or perhaps she helped. He always envisioned his mother as a brave warrior.

"Did my father slay the Dark One?"

Fiona giggled contemptuously, mocking Gideon's question. "Oh that he did, and do you know what happened next?" Gideon smiled, waiting for her to finish the story, desperate to hear that he became a beloved hero, that his father and mother lived happily ever after. "After your father had killed the Dark One, he took his power, draining the very essence of the former Dark One until nothing was left, and your father became the new Dark One."

Gideon's smile faded, and he felt a hollow feeling in the pit of his chest. "You're lying."

"I'm not. Your father is the Dark One, the most powerful sorcerer in all the realms, and you're his spawn."

"I don't believe you!" Gideon lashed out. The last thing he wanted to hear was that his father was more evil than the woman who kept him prisoner. "Prove it!"

"I don't need to," Fiona explained. "You and I, we share the same burden. He's my son."

He supposed it had to be true. What other reasons would she have to claim the Dark One as her son? "And what about my mother?"

"Hmmm? Oh yes, your mother. What would you like to know about her?"

 _Anything. Everything._ "Who is she? What's her name? Is she alive?"

"Slow down, child. One question at a time." The Black Fairy said. "Your mother's name is Belle, and she's quite the looker. I suppose it was no wonder why the Dark One fell for a girl like her."

That made him smile. "So she's alive? Is she looking for me?"

"Yes dearie. You needn't fear. She's alive. But due to unfortunate circumstances that surrounded your father, she abandoned you, and if I hadn't found you and graciously took you in, there was no telling what kind of life you would have lived. You could have died."

"So my father is a monster, and my mother abandoned me," Gideon said, feeling like his whole world got turned upside down.

"Quite. But I love you, always have." Fiona said, trying to sound genuine. "Do you know why I make you and the other children work the mines?"

"No."

"It's because I want to leave this realm, with you as my son by my side. But I can't, not without a curse. That's what the fairy dust is for." Fiona said, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear and walking away.

"But what about the other kids? What will happen to them when we leave?"

"I'm not sure, but maybe they will be okay," Fiona said, but it was a lie. Once she left the Dark realm, this place would cease to exist, which in turn would kill the other children. "So, now that I told you the truth, do you trust me now?"

"I do. I want to leave this place and _feel_  the sun. I want adventure." Gideon said. "I'll help you anyway I can."

Fiona's lips formed into a soft smile, but her eyes still held a mischievous gaze. "Wonderful."

xox0xox

As she took in the sight of her depressing surroundings, a feeling of hopelessness was burrowing its way into Belle's thoughts. Every which way she turned there was nothing, just darkness. The trees in the forest they trotted through had no leaves, and the bark was black like decay. She heard no birds in the trees or the scurrying of small woodland creatures. When she looked up, there were no stars, just a black desolate sky. It made her shudder to think that this was where Gideon had once stayed for 28 years of his life. Her baby boy, stolen and kept in a place with so much isolation and darkness. And now he's returned. And who knows how long he's been here this time. Last time he had been gone a day, and in this realm, it had been equivalent to almost three decades. Luckily, it had only been an hour since she last seen Gideon, and perhaps that wouldn't equate to the same degree. But how could she know for sure?

Gold stop walking when they reached a clearing and began sealing it with a protection spell.

"Why are we stopping?" Belle asked.

"We need to rest, Belle." He said. "We won't be much use to Gideon if we're too tired to fight." He said, gathering twigs and small rotted branches from the forest floor.

"But what about Gideon-" Belle reminded him. "I don't want him to stay here another night, alone and scared. I want our son back."

"Gideon will be fine for a few hours. I sense him, and the place he's being kept in isn't too far away." Rumple explained. "He's a brave kid. And besides, we need a plan."

"You're right." Belle agreed.

Rumple set the wood a blaze. The fire crackled on the dry logs as the fingers of the flames waved in the cold air. He held out his hand towards her. "Come closer to the fire."

Belle felt fortunate to be considered in his plans regarding their child. Before he used to exclude her and would try to take care of the act himself using some form of dark magic, but now he wanted her help and wanted to do things together as a team. She always knew that there was a man behind the beast.

He conjured a blanket that was big enough for the both of them and wrapped it around Belle's shoulders making sure every inch of her was covered before joining her inside the blanket.

"Are you warm?" He asked.

"Yes. Thank you." Belle said, looking into the flames and smiling. "You know, I've been camping before."

"Really? I would have never suspected," Rumple said, giving her a skeptical look, and Belle nudged her elbow into his side. " What I meant was that you were royalty. A princess. You shouldn't have been camping like a peasant."

"Well, I did," Belle said. "I had to if I was ever going to get back to you."

Rumple's head sagged. Sending Belle away wasn't a pleasant memory he liked to remember. Things only got worst for the both of them. He slipped further into madness, and she got captured by the Evil Queen.

"I really enjoyed it." Belle continued. "Out in nature, catching my dinner, building fires and pitching shelter. I even met some really nice people along the way." Belle said remembering Mulan and Prince Phillip. "I used to tell myself that when I made it back to you, we could have our own little camping adventure."

Gold smiled. "Well, it would seem you got your wish."

A log popped open and cracked in the fire, sending embers dancing into the sky. The couple laughed, and Belle rested her head on his shoulder.

"What about you?" Belle asked. "Have you ever been camping?"

"I have." He said, regretfully. "When I was a soldier during the first ogres' war. And once when I ran away from the old spinsters to look for my father."

"Doesn't sound like you had much fun when you went camping."

"No." He said. "But I am now."

Belle sighed. "I doubt we can count this as fun. It's technically a rescue mission."

"It's fun because we are doing it together. And we can take another one once we get our son back."

That made her smile.

Xox0xox

Belle was able to sleep for a few hours before getting jarred awake by the sound of rustling. Rumple pressed a finger to her lips so that she couldn't make any sudden noises. The fire had died, and only a small amount of black smoke stirred above the grey ashes.

"Who's there?" Rumple said in a hard voice.

A hooded young figure stepped out of the brush of bushes with a bowed arrow pointed to towards the couple. "On your feet intruders." He commanded, but they were hesitant to make any sudden moves. "Now!"

Rumple and Belle rose slowly from the ground, with their hands in the air to show they were unarmed and meant the person no harm.

"Who are you?" The man asked bravely and without an ounce of fear.

Belle kept her hands up in surrender. "We are parents who just wanted our son back. He was stolen from us by the Black Fairy." Belle said calmly.

"What's your son's name?"

"Belle, enough of this. He's not going to help us. He's just some brainwashed minion of my mother," Gold said, conjuring up a fire ball. One way or another he was going to get his son back.

Belle jerked his arm down. "Rumple, no. Hurting him is not going to get Gideon back."

"How do you know that name?" The young man asked, pulling the string of his bow backwards and nocking the arrow in the couple's direction. Belle noticed that his elbow was beginning to shake, and at any moment, he could let his arrow loose.

"He's our son." Belle managed to say. "Gideon is our son. Pl-please put the bow down. We mean you no harm."

"If what you say is true and you are both his parents, then that would make him the Dark One." The hooded figured said before aiming the tip of the arrow at Rumple, releasing his arrow to let it fly.

Belle wasn't given any chance to react as the arrow flew towards her husband and struck him in the chest. The force made him stumble backwards, but luckily he didn't lose his footing.

"You didn't do all your research dearie. Because if you had, then you would know this wouldn't have killed me." Rumple said, pulling the arrow's pointed tip from his chest. But as he tossed the arrow aside something black and sticky remained on his hand, and in seconds, he stiffened and hardened in place.

"I wasn't trying to kill you." The man threw back his hood and revealed himself. A thin boy with curly brown hair that swept over his forehead with brown eyes to match. Belle could recognize those eyes anywhere. They were just like his father's, and she couldn't keep herself from looking in them since the moment he was born.

"Gideon?"

The boy dropped his bow and arrow and ran to Belle, grabbing her by the hand. "We have to go, mother, the squid ink won't last for long. I won't let the Dark One hurt you."

Belle stood her ground as her son tried to lead her away. "Gideon, he's your father. He would never hurt you or me."

"He's the Dark One. He will hurt _everyone_."

"Not anymore. He's changed. We both came here to bring you home."

"But the Black Fairy said-"

"She lied Gideon. She's the evil one, not your father. The Black Fairy stole you from our home and before that, she cursed me to an awful life. One that made sure that I would never see you again."

"Gideon, whatever my mother is telling you, she's feeding you lies," Rumple said straining to speak in his frozen state. "She severed my fate of becoming the savior and ruined my life, and now she is doing the same to you."

"How do I know you both aren't lying?"

It had only been hours since she last seen him, but for Gideon, it had been years since their separation. He needed some way of knowing how much they loved him.

"I can prove it," Belle said before reaching into her husband's pocket and pulling out a picture. It was a photo of the three of them when Gideon was just a small babe.

"And this is me?" Gideon asked, pointing to the baby in its father's arms.

"Yes, sweetie that's you," Belle assured him.

Gold finally unfroze and when to stand next to his son. "I'm sorry. I-I."

"It's not your fault. And this isn't the first time one of my sons used squid ink to immobilize me." Rumple said, placing a hand on his son's shoulder. "Think of it as a rite of passage.

"Are you ready to go home, dear?" Belle asked, tucking a bushy curl behind his ear.

"Yes. But- well I can't." Gideon stammered. "Not without help the other kids here."

"There's more of you?" Rumple asked, unaware and Gideon nodded yes. "My mother has been a busy woman."

"Of course we'll help the other children get home," Belle said.

"Gideon, show your mother where the kids are. And I'll make sure that my mother never leaves the Dark Realm again."

"How do you plan to do that?" Belle asked, worrying that he would sacrifice himself as he did with his other parent. "I trust this won't be too dangerous."

"No, not at all," Rumple said. "No magic, just a little something my sons taught me."

xox0xox

Fiona paced the floor with an empty wine glass in her hand and wondered what was taking Gideon so long to find out who the intruder in the forest was. She refilled her glass up with the red liquid when she felt someone appear in her chambers behind her.

"Well, if it isn't my least favorite son, Rumple." She said with a sadistic smile.

"I'm your only son."

"Is that so?" She said casually like this was a conversation.

"Yes, and I won't let you condemn Gideon to the same fate as you did to me." He growled through gritted teeth. He was done with his Mother's game. He just wanted his son back, no matter the price.

"So you've come here to save him?" she cackled delightedly. "Have you forgotten? This is my realm, and no one leaves here unless I will it."

"I sensed as much. I took a look around your little school, or should I say, your concentration camp. You won't get that curse you've been working on done with children mining for fairy dust. Only dwarfs can." Rumple saw the change in his mother's expression. He had her attention.

She tapped her fingernails on the side of her wine glass impatiently. "They're basically the same thing, runt bastards that like to complain. Not much of a difference I'm afraid."

"But they're never going to get what you need," Rumple said, taking a step closer to her. "But  _I_  can."

Fiona smiled. "Is that a deal I smell?"

"It's more like a trade. Release the children and my son-" He said, pulling out his dagger by the blade. "-And you can have me."

Fiona's eyes grew large as they traced the outline of the dagger. "You would give up your freedom just for a few measly children?"

Rumple nodded solemnly. "Is it a deal?"

The dagger flew from Rumple's hand and across the room to of the Black Fairy, with the hilt in her palm. "Deal."

Fiona smiled and gazed over the Dark One's dagger like it was her new favorite toy. Rumple was hers, and he was the Dark One to boot. Now she had everything she needed to enact her curse that would enslave humanity in every the realm. She finally had it all. She finally had everything she wanted.

She gasped. "No, What- what's happening." Fiona cried. Her arm stiffened, and she lost the ability to use it as a poisonous spell crept over her body. When she finally realized that it was coming from the inky dagger, she dropped it to the ground. Unfortunately, it was far too late.

xox0xox

Belle, Gideon, and the rest of the children waited in the forest just outside of the thick walls of the school. The kids were scared when Belle came to save them. Most of them thought it was some kind of trick, and if they went with her the Black fairy would punish them. Luckily Gideon was there to persuade them that this was his real mother and she was going to take them home. They managed to get all the children out, and the protection spell withdrew from around the school, enabling them to leave. Belle kept them quiet and calmed while waiting for her husband who she hoped was alright.

One of the younger boys began to cry, he was only 4 and didn't understand what was going on. Belle comforted him with a story, and even the other children's fear began to fade while listening to her. After a few more stories, Rumple appeared and hugged her, happy to see that Belle and his son were safe. He explained to Belle that once they were back in Storybrooke, he would talk with Emma about sending the children back to their respective homes.

"We don't have much time. The squid ink will be wearing off soon." Rumple said, reaching into his pocket for the Apprentice's wand.

Belle watched him summon the portal, and looked back at the ominous school's Gideon looked and wrapped his arms around his mother's waist, burying his face in her stomach. Belle stroked his soft hair protectively as the door to the portal open. "But Rumple, won't she just follow us?"

Rumple tucked the wand back into his pocket. "No, once we are out of this realm, I'm closing any portal to this land off for good."

One by one, all the children entered the portal that placed them back in Gold's shop. Rumple waited to be last, ensuring that the children made it before he sealed off the realm. Once he was safely inside his shop, Gold cast a banishment spell, locking the Dark Realm from ever being open again.

xox0xox

The next morning, Belle and Rumple were watching their eleven-year-old son wolf down a healthy portion of breakfast. They weren't sure about how he was going to react to the question that kept them up for a better part of the whole night, but it wasn't fair to either of them if they made this decision without first consulting with their son.

"Son," Rumple said, and Gideon popped his head up chewing a mouthful of food. "Your mother and I wanted to ask you something."

Gideon swallowed the remainder of the food he had in his mouth, then picked up his glass of milk and washed it down. "Okay, what did you want to ask?"

"Well as you know, you were only a baby when the Black Fairy stole you from us," Belle said, and Gideon nodded yes. "We missed so much of you growing up, like your first word, and your first steps."

"You want to turn me back into a baby?" Gideon asked, completely aware of where this conversation was heading.

"Well, it's up to you." His father said. "We won't force you to do something you don't want to do. If you wish to stay eleven, then we would still be perfectly happy."

"We just want  _you_  to be happy," Belle added.

Gideon bowed his head, making Belle worried that they might have upset him by talking about changing him back. But to their surprise, he looked up at them and smiled.

"Okay. If I'm a baby again, that means I won't have to go to school for a few more years," he said.

Belle and Rumple laughed.


End file.
